Feed mechanisms



June 3, 1969 B. HARTLE 3,447,694

FEED MECHANISMS Filed June 27, 1966 Sheet 4 of s INVENTOR 62mm 6 40 74 E A M Em June 3, 1969 Filed June 27; 1966 Sheet INVENTOR dew/v 644k: BY

A'H'QRN YS M k h h h E h Q h A T LT ?QI L? g s r FL m mm Qw dw. mm mm mm QW June 3, 1969 B. HARTLE FEED MECHANISMS SheetiofS Filed June 27, 1966 5 an TR 2 V United States Patent Othee 3,447,694 Patented June 3, 1969 US. Cl. 2141.2 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bar feed mechanism comprises an inclined rack on which a supply of bars can be placed and an elongated feed member which has a longitudinally extending recess and which is positioned at the bottom of the rack with the recess extending perpendicular to the lines of greatest slope of the rack. The feed member is rockable between a receiving position in which the mouth of the recess faces towards the rack so that the lowest bar thereon can roll into the recess "and a delivery position in which the recess faces away from the rack and the previously received bar can roll out of the recess.

This invention relates to feed mechanisms, and in particular to feed mechanisms for feeding bar stock, the bars being fed singly and in turn from a supply thereof. The invention is of particular application to mechanisms for the demand feeding of an automatic bar feed supplying a machine tool.

According to the invention a bar feed mechanism comprises an inclined rack on which a supply of bars can be placed and 'a recessed feed member at the bottom of the rack, the feed member being rockable between a receiving position in which the mouth of the recess faces towards the rack so that the lowest bar thereon can roll into the member and a delivery position in which the recess faces away from the rack and the previously received bar can roll out of the recess. Preferably the feed member is of trough-like form.

The feed member may have a single section such that it alone adequately supports the received bar from the time of reception to delivery, although it may take the form of a number of spaced sections disposed in alignment and rockable in synchronism between the receiving and delivery positions. The feed member may comprise a length of metal L-section, for example a length of angle iron, which is fixed to suitably supported pivot brackets such that the section pivots about an axis adjacent and below the apex of the section and which is connected to actuating means which rock the member between said positions.

The recess is preferably straight sided with an included angle of 90 and the receiving and delivery positions are then conveniently displaced by 90, in the receiving position one side wall of the recess being generally aligned with the rack.

A feed mechanism in accordance with the invention is conveniently used with an automatic bar feed of the type having a split feed tube with upper and lower sections which come together to enclose a bar and which open, by raising the upper tube section, for the admission of a fresh bar. With such an arrangement the mechanism is preferably disposed immediately adjacent the feed tube so that in the delivery position of the feed member a bar on delivery rolls directly from the latter into the lower feed tube section. A control system is used which synchronises rocking movement of the feed member and opening of the feed tube.

combination A split feed tube is normally used with thin bar stock which tends to whip unless retained between upper and lower tube sections. When larger bar stock is being used, however, the feed mechanism may be used in association With an automatic bar feed of the type having an open feed channel, the upper section of the split feed tube being dispensed with in this construction.

A portion of the feed channel, or a portion of the lower section of the split feed tube, may be adapted to pivot about a horizontal axis to tip out the bar end which remains in said portion of the feed channel or tube at the end of a bar feed operation, said tipping being synchronised with the rocking movement of the feed member. A similar tipping action can be utilised to discharge finished or part-finished components in a machining cycle in which the components are fed separately and withdrawn rearwardly after machining.

The recess preferably has a straight shallower side adjacent the rack and along which the bars roll from the rack into the feed member, and to accommodate various sizes of 'bar adjustable filling pieces may be utilised attached to the shallower side at suitable intervals. These filling pieces are so dimensioned that when the feed member is in the receiving position only one bar of the size being handled rolls into the feed member. The feed member may be-formed so that as it moves away from the receiving position it provides an abutment which moves into position at the bottom of the rack and prevents the bars remaining on the rack rolling off the latter. To this end metal segments may be attached to the adjacent side of the feed member to provide a series of spaced abutments.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example, a feed mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention and used in association with two forms of automatic bar feed. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a transverse section of the feed mechanism combined with one form of automatic bar feed, the

being in one operative position,

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but illustrating a different point in the operating cycle, and with certain parts omitted for clarity,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the combination of FIG- URES 1 and 2,

FIGURES 4 and 5 are respectively views similar to FIGURES 1 and 2 but with the other form of automatic b-ar feed, and

FIGURE 6 is a scrap plan view of the combination shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, the mechanism is mounted by means of a support tube 1 immediately alongside a feed channel 2 of semi-circular internal section and comprises an inclined rack 3 on which a stock of bars such as 4 can be placed and a rockable feed member 5 in a gap between the bottom end of the rack 3 and the feed channel 2. The feed member 5 has a recess in the form of an L-shaped feed trough 6 provided by a length of angle iron. This is attached to pivot brackets 7 (FIGURE 1) which pivot about a horizontal axis indicated in end view at A parallel to the feed channel 2 and disposed adjacent and slightly below the apex 8 (FIGURE 2) of the feed trough 6.

The feed member 5 is rockable through an angle of about the pivot axis A between a receiving position (FIG- URE 2) and a delivery position (FIGURE 1) under the control of a pneumatc operating cylinder 9. In the receiving position the shallower side 6a of the feed trough 6 is aligned with the rack 3 so that the lowest bar 4a on the latter rolls into the feed member 5, and when a bar is to be fed into the feed channel 2 the feed member 5 moves to the delivery position (FIGURE 1) in which the other side 61) of the trough is slightly inclined downwardly and flush with the upper edge of the feed channel 2 so that the previously received bar can roll into the channel 2.

Adjustable filling pieces (not shown) are attached to the shallower side 6a of the trough 6 to adjust the depth of the side 6a and prevent more than one bar rolling into the trough 6 when the feed member 5 is in the receiving position. Segment-shaped 'abutments of the correct radius are attached to the outer surface of the side 6a so that as the feed member 5 moves away from the receiving position the albutments 10 move close to the bottom end of the rack 3 as shown in FIGURE 1 and prevent the bars rolling off the latter when the trough 6 is not there to receive them.

A bar feed utilising an open feed channel 2 as previously described is normally used with bars of comparatively large diameter the ends of which are not subject to whip" as the bar is fed into the machine which the bar feed is serving. When the bars are of a diameter such that whip tends to occur a split feed tube is employed. This construction is shown in broken lines in FIGURES 1 and 2, the open feed channel 2 now forming a lower feed tube section and being supplemented by an upper feed tube section '12.

The upper feed tube section 12 is mounted on a bracket 13 which is pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis indicated in end view at B and a pneumatic cylinder 14 the piston of which is connected to the bracket 13 controls pivotal movement of the upper feed tube section 12 between an open position (FIGURE 2) and a closed position (FIGURE 1), the pneumatic cylinder 14 operating in synchronism with the pneumatic operating cylinder 9 so that the upper feed tube section 12 is raised to an open position when a bar is about to roll into the lower feed tube section 2.

A series of longitudinally spaced guide plates 15 are provided, the guide surfaces 16 being spaced from and parallel to the inclined rack 3 in order to guide the bars down the rack 3 and into the feed member 5. Each guide plate 15 is carried by an arms 17 which is adjustable within the limits CC to vary the spacing between the guide plate 15 and the inclined rack 3, this adjustment accomodating a change in bar diameter. The guide plates 15 and arms 17 are normally only fitted when the diameter of the bars is small in relation to the length.

The plan view of the bar feed (FIGURE 3) shows the rack 3 comprising a series of spaced ribs 20 which support the stock of bars. A pusher drive unit 21 driven by a pusher driving chain 18 is disposed at one end of the bar feed with the machine 22 which is served by the bar feed at the other end. In use the end of the bar remote from the machine 22 is gripped by the forward end of the pusher, this end being withdrawn rearwardly within the feed channel or tube when the remaining length of the bar has been fed into the machine 22.

:FIGURES 4 and 5 show the feed mechanism in association with the other form of automatic bar feed in which the ends of the bars are tipped from a portion 23 (shown in broken lines in FIGURE 5) of the feed channel 2 into a discharge chute 24. The automatic bar feed is generally similar to that shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 and similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

FIGURE 6 is a scrap plan view of the rear end of the feed mechanism in association with the automatic bar feed of FIGURES 4 and 5. In FIGURE 6 the portion 23 of the feed channel 2 is pivotally movable about a horizont-al axis by means of a pneumatic cylinder 25, the portion 23 being disposed between the two adjacent ribs 20a and 20b which are remote from the machine 22. The pneumatic cylinder 25 and discharge chute 24 are also arranged between the ribs 20a and 20b.

FIGURE 4 shows the feed member 5 in the delivery position, a fresh bar having rolled into the feed channel 2. When the bar in the channel 2 has been fed into the machine 22 the end of the bar held by the gripper is returned to its rearmost position by the driving chain 18. A push rod (not shown) releases the end of the bar from the gripper and the piston of the pneumatic cyilnder 25 outstrokes to tilt the portion 23 of the feed channel 2, thus tipping the bar end into the discharge chute 24. The pneumatic cylinder 25 is synchronised with the pneumatic cylinder 9 which controls the movement of the feed memher 5 so that a fresh bar rolls into the trough 6 of the feed member 5 as the bar end is tipped into the discharge chute 24. Finished or part-finished components may be tipped in a similar manner in a machining cycle in which the components are fed separately and withdrawn rearwardly after machining.

This form of automatic bar feed employing a tipping action may use a split feed tube comprising upper and lower feed tube sections 12 and 2 respectively and in this case the action of all three pneumatic cylinders 9, 14 and 25 is synchronised.

It will 'be appreciated that the invention is of application to mechanisms for handling bar-like articles or components generally. For example, it may be used in a mechanism for feeding shaft components to an automatic lathe or other machine tool. The term bar as used herein is to be construed accordingly.

I claim:

1. A bar feed mechanism comprising an inclined rack on which a supply of bars can be placed and an elongated feed member which is formed with a longitudinally extending recess and which is positioned at the bottom of the rack with the recess extending substantially perpendicular to lines of greatest slope of the rack, and an automatic bar feed supplied by the bar feed mechanism and having an open feed channel, the feed member being rockable between a receiving position in which the mouth of the recess faces towards the rack so that the lowest bar thereon can roll into the recess in the member and a deli-very position in which the recess faces away from the rack and the previously received bar can roll out of the recess, with a portion of the open feed channel being adapted to pivot about a horizontal axis to tip out each bar end which remains in said portion of the open feed channel at the end of a bar feed operation, the tipping \being synchronised with the rocking movement of the feed member.

2. A bar feed mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the feed member comprises a length of metal L-section which is fixed to pivot brackets, such that the section pivots about an axis adjacent and below the apex of the section, and which is connected to actuating means which rock the member between said positions.

3. A bar feed mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the receiving and delivery positions are displaced by in the receiving position one side wall of the recess being generally aligned with the rack.

4. A bar feed mechanism comprising an inclined rack on which a supply of bars can be placed and an elongated feed member which is formed with a longitudinally extending recess and which is positioned at the bottom of the rack with the recess extending substantially perpendicular to lines of greatest slope of the rack, and an automatic bar feed supplied by the bar feed mechanism and having a split feed tube with upper and lower sections which close, by lowering the upper tube section, to enclose a bar and which open, by raising the upper tube section, for the admission of a fresh bar, the feed member being rockable between a receiving position in which the mouth of the recess faces towards the rack so that the lowest bar thereon can roll into the recess in the member and a delivery position in which the recess faces away from the rack and towards the lower tube section so that the previously received bar can roll out of the recess and into the lower tube section with the upper tube section being raised, and a portion of the lower tube section being adapted to pivot about a horizontal axis to tip out each bar end which remains in said portion of the lower tube section at the end of a bar feed operation, the tipping being synchronised with the rocking movement of the feed member.

5. A bar feed mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the feed member comprises a length of metal L-section which is fixed to pivot brackets, such that the section pivots about an axis adjacent and below the apex of the section, and which is connected to actuating means which rock the member between said positions.

6. A bar feed mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the receiving and delivery positions are displaced by 90, in the receiving position one side wall of the recess being generally aligned with the rack.

7. A bar feed mechanism comprising an inclined rack on which a supply of bars can be placed and a single feed member comprising a length of metal L-section which is positioned at the bottom of the rack and which is fixed to pivot brackets such that the section pivots about a horizontal axis adjacent and below the apex of the section, and an automatic bar feed supplied by the bar feed mechanism and having a split feed tube with upper and lower sections which close, by lowering the upper tube section, to enclose a bar and which open, by raising the upper tube section, for the admission of a fresh bar, the section being connected to actuating means which rock the feed member between a receiving position inwhich one side wall of the recess is generally aligned with the rack so that the lowest bar thereon can roll into the recess in the member and a delivery position which is displaced by 90 from the receiving position, and in which the recess faces away from the rack and towards the lower tube section so that the previously received bar can roll out of the recess and into the lower tube section with the upper tube section being raised, a portion of the lower tube section being adapted to pivot about a horizontal axis to tip out each bar end which remains in said portion of the lower tube section at the end of a bar feed operation, the tipping being synchronised with the rocking movement of the feed member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,071,771 2/1937 Shield.

2,910,919 11/1959 Rye 82-2.7 XR 3,055,544- 9/ 1962 Krakauer et a1. 22114 1,830,760 11/1931 Johnsen.

2,623,570 12/1952 Resser 2141 XR 2,915,810 12/1959 Taylor et a1 214-1.5 XR 3,306,472 2/1967 Blanz 214-1 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner. FRANK E. WERNER, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 82--2.7; 214-1 

